


Down From the North

by Chelsea Frew (chelseafrew)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Ice Skating, Kid Fic, M/M, Santa's Elves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21516649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chelseafrew/pseuds/Chelsea%20Frew
Summary: Single father Louis is anxious to introduce his boyfriend Harry to his small daughter now that their relationship has grown serious and Christmas is on the way. Little does he know that his daughter has already met his boyfriend....
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 17
Kudos: 298
Collections: 1D Christmas Fest





	Down From the North

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't going to play in this fest, but when I saw this prompt, I could not resist. The prompt was: _Single parent Louis starts casually dating Harry and is finally ready to make their relationship official and introduce Harry to his daughter. There is one slight problem though: Harry works part-time as an elf accompanying the local mall Santa, and Louis’ daughter recognizes him. The little girl is now convinced that her dad’s new boyfriend is actually one of Santa’s elves._
> 
> Thanks to CL for encouraging me to write this and for beta reading. As ever, the story is better because of her help.
> 
> Happy Holidays to all! I hope you enjoy the story!

"Papa! Papa! Papa!" Hannah's yell echoed around the foyer, through the small corridor, and into the lounge where Louis was watching the end of a footie match. Her voice was followed by tiny footsteps running down the hall.

As she entered the room, Louis called out, "Stop!"

Hannah froze.

Louis dropped his gaze to her feet. "Shoes?"

Sighing dramatically, Hannah turned around and ran back toward the front door. When she came back to the lounge about thirty seconds later, she skidded in socks and was trailed by her much more sedate grandmother.

"Papa!" Hannah dove into his lap.

"Ooof." Louis shifted his four-year-old so she was more comfortably situated. "Hannah Banana!"

"I got to see Santa!" Hannah told him in an excited tone commensurate to the importance of the event.

"You did?" Louis requested more information.

"I did! Nanny and I waited in a long, long line, then an elf took me up to Santa," Hannah reported. "I sat on his lap, told him what I wanted, then the elf took a picture."

"That sounds amazing," Louis told her, smiling widely. He looked over to where his mother had sunk into an easy chair. "Thanks, Mum."

She smiled back at him wearily. "It was tiring, but fun."

Louis flicked the television off to give his daughter his full attention. "So, Hannah, what did you ask Santa for?"

"I asked for a doll, a stuffed tiger, and toy cars," she reported.

Hidden away in the house was a pair of new dolls for Hannah, but Louis made a mental note to head to the shops on the weekend to get a stuffed tiger and some toy cars. "What did Santa say?"

"He said if I was a good girl, I would get my wishes," she answered, smiling.

"You think you're a good girl?" Louis winked over at his mother, who stifled a chuckle.

Hannah nodded decisively.

"Okay, then." Louis tickled her belly, making her giggle. "Was Santa nice?"

Once again, Hannah nodded. "He had two elves."

"Two?"

"One boy and one girl," she confirmed. "The boy elf took my picture with Santa. He was funny."

"Picture?" Louis looked over Hannah's head at his mother.

"It's in one of the bags," she told him. "It's a cute picture. The elf was a good photographer."

"Then he gave me a candy cane after I got off Santa's lap," Hannah said dreamily. "It tasted amazing."

"Wow, he sounds like a full-service elf," Louis commented. 

"Nanny said only the best work for Santa." As swiftly as she'd arrived, Hannah slid off Louis' lap. "Can we have hot chocolate for tea?"

Louis guessed that was all the information he was likely to get about the trip to Santa. He pushed himself up off the sofa to ready the hot chocolate for his little princess. Even if didn't top a candy cane from one of Santa's elves.

* * *

"I've made a decision." As the credits rolled on the television, Louis shifted in his seat to face his boyfriend of four months.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Oh? What about?"

"I think it's time for you to meet Hannah," Louis told him.

A grin bloomed on Harry's face. "I like that decision. I can't wait to meet her."

"You do understand why I wanted to wait, don't you?" Louis checked, his tone sober.

Harry nodded. "Of course. Hannah's your first priority. It's definitely risky to introduce someone before you're sure it's going somewhere."

Louis felt like melting. "I love that you're so understanding."

With a shrug, Harry said, "Well, it just makes sense. So, why now?" He reached a hand out and traced a finger down Louis' forearm. He looked up at Louis through his eyelashes. "You think this is going somewhere?"

"I do." Louis leaned forward to press his lips to Harry's. When he pulled away, he asked, "Don't you?"

"I do," Harry echoed.

"This is why I was hoping you could join me and my family on my birthday, and on Christmas, at least as much as your familial obligations allow you to," Louis explained. "I think it's time you get to meet everyone, and everyone gets to meet you."

Now Harry's eyes practically sparkled. "I would love that. Mum is coming down here and we're having Christmas with Gemma and Michal, but I think I can sneak away in the later part of the day."

"That would be perfect," Louis stated. "Since Mum's based here now, we're all going to hers for the day. After Hannah and I do Santa here. You can come after our feast, just in time for drinks and dessert."

"Sounds great," Harry agreed, already bouncing with excitement. "But I assume you would like for me to meet her before your birthday, so I'm not a complete stranger barging in on your family celebrations."

"Well, Hannah warms pretty easily to people, but yes, I think it makes sense for you to meet her beforehand. We could do something fun, all three of us, and she can get to know you, and you can get to know her," Louis suggested. "If we meet up a few times before my birthday, by then you'll be a friend, and she won't question your inclusion."

"You really think she's going to take to me that quickly?"

"I did, didn't I?" Louis batted back. "Like father, like daughter."

"Then I'll just have to win over the rest of your family," Harry remarked, a wry smile on his lips.

Louis couldn't help but backhand him--gently. "Like you don't win over everybody you meet. Don't even pretend like you can't make people fall in love with you in about thirty seconds flat."

Harry's smile morphed into a grin. "Sometimes it takes a whole minute."

Shaking his head in mock exasperation, Louis said, "My family will love you. I haven't a single doubt."

"I look forward to meeting them," Harry told him. "So, did you have something particular in mind for our outing with Hannah?"

"Well, she loves ice skating, so I thought on Saturday we could take her to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park for some skating and hot chocolate. What do you think?"

"I have to work until around three. If we can meet up after that, that would be great," Harry replied.

"Works for me," Louis said. "It's a plan!"

Harry reached over to the coffee table to look at his phone. "It's nine o'clock. When do you have to go?"

"I told Lottie I'd be home by ten so she could go meet her own boyfriend," Louis answered.

"So we've got…what?...about thirty minutes?" Harry calculated.

Louis nodded. "Just about. Any ideas for how to spend it?"

Harry stood up and held out a hand to Louis. Louis took it, and Harry pulled him up and toward the corridor and his bedroom. "Oh, I have plenty of ideas. Plenty indeed."

* * *

Louis had not been looking for love. He and his ex, Brian, had gone through all the trouble to hire a surrogate only for Brian to bolt when Hannah was barely a month old. Apparently the dream of having a child became a nightmare for Brian when manifested as reality.

The plan had been to raise a child together. Raising that child as a single parent was a challenge Louis hadn't prepared for. Thanks to his experience with his younger siblings, however, and with more than a little help from his mum, Hannah was growing up happy and healthy. Louis could not have possibly loved her more.

He had been unwilling to risk adding a boyfriend to the equation. Hannah didn't remember Brian and didn't really feel his absence, but the older she got, the more Louis worried about introducing her to someone who might leave. As fiercely as she loved the people in her life, such a scenario would break her heart.

Then one Friday evening Louis had left Hannah with Lottie and gone with a work friend to a local pub for a drink. There, he'd fallen hard for the singer with the guitar who was performing that night.

When the singing had first started, Louis and Chris had been chatting about a new action movie Louis would have to wait to see because he had a four-year-old. Over a lull in the conversation, though, the deep soothing voice rose to his attention.

He swivelled his head to check out the small stage just behind him. Sat on a stool was just about the most handsome man he'd ever seen. The man was possessed of a mess of chocolate brown curls, light eyes, and a dimple when he smiled. Louis lost his breath for a moment just looking at him.

In between songs, the singer introduced himself as Harry, and when Harry put his guitar down for a break, Louis went against his better judgement and introduced himself to Harry.

Louis talked with Harry long enough that Chris came over to say he was leaving. Louis knew he should go with him. He was in no position to be courting someone. He couldn't bring himself to leave, however, and he and Harry talked during all his breaks right up until midnight. They talked about music and movies and cars and their jobs. Harry was trying to break into the music business, and Louis was a secondary school drama teacher. The only thing they didn't talk about was Hannah. Louis wasn't ready to share her just yet. That had come later.

At midnight, Louis said he had to go, claiming he had to be up early in the morning to help his mum with something. Harry was the one to suggest they get together again sometime, and they traded mobile numbers. The very next day, Harry had texted Louis to invite him out for a drink on the following Monday evening. After a long conversation with Lottie about how wise it was for Louis to pursue this, Louis texted back that he would like that.

It was over that drink that Louis had confessed that he was a single father, and to his relief, Harry did not flip out. He told Louis that he loved kids, and that he hoped he would get to meet Hannah one day. Louis had been clear. That would not happen unless he was sure this thing between him and Harry was serious.

After four months, Louis was pretty sure this thing between him and Harry was serious. He was head over heels for the singer and couldn't imagine Harry not being a part of his life going forward.

When Hannah bounced into his bed early Saturday morning, it took Louis a moment to remember why he had a vague nervous feeling. It was the day Harry would be meeting Hannah.

Since they weren't meeting Harry until mid-afternoon, Louis had to entertain Hannah until then. They began with breakfast--cereal, since Louis was no cook--then they played with some of Hannah's favourite toys before a nap and then a lunch of sandwiches and crisps. Louis let Hannah pick a movie to play after that. She chose _Frozen_ , of course. It was her current favourite, though Louis hoped she would pick another soon. He was starting to hear _Let it Go_ in his dreams.

Finally, it was time to get ready to head to the park for skating with Harry. 

Louis sat Hannah down on the sofa in the lounge to explain. "So, sweetheart, you remember I told you we were going skating this afternoon?"

Hannah nodded vigorously. "I can't wait to do twirls." She held her hands up over her head to demonstrate.

"You're good at those," Louis said with a smile. "Well, I didn't want to take you skating just for that."

"Why else, Papa?"

"We're going to meet a friend of mine," Louis explained.

"Are you having a play date, Papa?" she asked, all innocence.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Kind of."

"Yay!" Hannah hopped off the sofa to do a little happy dance.

After a moment, she sat back down again and looked at Louis for more information.

"His name is Harry, and he's become a really good friend," he told her. "I told him about you, and he can't wait to meet you."

She squealed. "I can't wait to meet him."

She meant it. She practically bounced all the way to Hyde Park. It made Louis very glad he'd waited to tell her about Harry. He could only handle so much sustained high energy.

Louis had told Harry to meet them at the entrance to Winter Wonderland. As Hannah tugged Louis around the corner which brought the arched entrance into view, Louis was easily able to spot Harry. He was leaning against the lower part of the arch, dressed in a long woollen black coat and a smart red scarf.

Louis was just about to point Harry out to Hannah when Hannah stopped in her tracks, gasped, and squealed so high and so loudly that Louis was worried they were about to be swarmed by dogs.

"Hannah! What is it?" Louis asked.

The four-year-old pointed toward the entrance. "Papa! It's Santa's elf!"

"Santa's elf?" Louis looked from left to right, trying to pick out the object of Hannah's excitement. "Where?"

"Right there. He's the one who took my picture and gave me a candy cane. He works for Santa." She pointed determinedly, and Louis bent down just a little to try to follow the invisible line from her finger to Santa's helper.

From this angle, it became much easier to see at whom she was pointing. She was pointing at Harry.

Hannah tugged her hand out of Louis' and dashed to Harry, throwing her little arms around his legs. "It's you!" she cried.

Louis met Harry's gaze and raised his eyebrows questioningly. Harry blushed under Louis' curious scrutiny.

"So, she says you're Santa's elf?" Louis tried to hold back a grin, mostly not actually succeeding.

Hannah looked up at him, still wrapped around Harry. "He works at the North Pole, Papa."

When Louis looked back at Harry, Harry shrugged. "Best job in the world."

After giving Harry's legs one more squeeze, Hannah backed up just far enough so she could look up into Harry's face. "Why are you here? Is Santa here today?" 

Louis gave Harry an exaggerated look of interest. "Is he? Inquiring minds want to know."

Before Harry could answer the question, Hannah squealed again. "Oooh. Can we go see Santa again, Papa? You didn't get to see him when I went with Nanny."

Harry cleared his throat. "I'm sure Santa is here, but I actually have the day off today."

Hannah's forehead wrinkled with confusion. "Who's helping Santa, then?"

"Some of Santa's other elves," Harry explained. "I was helping him this morning, and now it's someone else's turn."

Hannah accepted this answer with a nod. "Okay."

Harry seemed to have caught up with what was happening here. With a conspiratorial wink at Louis, he squatted down so he was eye-level with Louis' daughter. He made a big show of looking around before addressing her. "Hannah."

The four-year-old gasped once more. "How do you know my name?"

"North Pole magic," Harry told her. Her eyes were wide as saucers as he continued, "My name is Harry. I'm kind of in disguise today. Can you help me keep my secret?"

Hannah looked up at Louis again. "Papa, you said we were meeting your friend Harry. Are you friends with an elf?"

Caught a little off guard, Louis needed a moment. At a little nod from Harry, Louis replied, "I am. Harry and I are good friends."

"Wow." Hannah appeared a little overwhelmed.

"So, what do you think, Hannah?" Harry inquired. "Can you help me keep it secret that I'm an elf?"

Hannah offered him a very sober nod. "Are you coming skating with us?"

"Is that okay if I do?" Harry responded.

"Yes!" Hannah yelled.

Harry rose from his squat, holding his lower back and grimacing. "I'm very excited to hang out with you, Hannah. And your papa, too, of course."

"Yay!" Hannah did a cute little dance that made Harry giggle. When she was done, she gestured for him to lean over so she could whisper. Once he was close, she said, "I'll help keep your secret."

He grinned at her as he straightened back up. "Thanks so much, Hannah. You're the best. I'll make sure Santa knows."

"Did you hear, Papa? Harry's going to tell Santa I'm the best girl," Hannah reported earnestly.

Louis chuckled. "I heard. That's amazing, sweet pea. Should we go skating now?"

In answer, Hannah reached for first Louis' hand, then Harry's. "Let's go!"

Louis and Harry were summarily dragged through the arch into Winter Wonderland, then Hannah had to slow down enough for them to follow the signs to the ice rink.

Once they arrived rinkside, Louis rented skates for all three of them. Hannah insisted Harry help her with her small skates, surprising Louis, since she didn't always want help from people other than him. Must be all that elf magic.

When they were ready for the ice, Harry asked to skirt the wall while he got his bearings, so Louis took charge of guiding Hannah around the ice. It wasn't long before Harry was acclimated enough to take Hannah's other hand, and the three of them were able to skate around the rink together.

Most of the conversation as they went around in an oval over and over centred around their skating technique and oohing and ahhing over how well Hannah was doing or comforting her when she slipped and fell. To her delight, Harry fell once or twice, too, and if an elf could fall, she didn't need to be all that embarrassed when her skates slipped under her.

After about thirty minutes, Hannah had had her fill of skating for the moment, declaring herself both tired and thirsty for hot chocolate. All three of them stepped off the ice, slipped back into their regular shoes, and headed for the hot chocolate stand.

They didn't have to wait long before they were able to get three steaming cups of delicious hot chocolate. Harry used his elf magic again, this time to find them a seat at one of the tables.

While they sipped at their sweet treats, Hannah happily watched the people skating around the rink while Harry and Louis chatted.

"So, Santa's elf, eh?" Louis started the conversation, barely containing a smirk.

Even in the fading light of the day, Harry's blush was easy to make out. "It's a side gig," he said. "Just to pull in some extra money."

"Well, this one," he tilted his head toward Hannah, "seems to think you're awesome at your side gig. She came home from her visit to Santa raving about the elf who took her picture and gave her a candy cane."

Harry smiled fondly at the small girl. "I'm glad she had a happy visit."

"Me, too." Louis took another sip of his cocoa. "You never mentioned this side gig. No judgement, but any particular reason why?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess I didn't think the elf gig was quite as cool as Hannah seems to think it is. I wanted to be the hip singer-songwriter, you know. Writing by day, playing the pubs at night. Just a song away from my big break."

For a moment, Louis paused, sipping again at his drink. Harry did the same, his hand trembling ever so slightly.

Louis reached his own hand out to touch Harry's free one. "Hey. You remember why I wanted to do this today?" He looked from Harry to Hannah, then back.

Harry nodded. "You thought this thing between us was going somewhere."

"I'm in love with you," Louis clarified. "Head over heels. It wouldn't matter to me if you were a full-time elf, a full-time singer-songwriter, or a street magician. I'd still want to be with you."

A smile bloomed on Harry's face. "I'm in love with you, too. And I suspect I'm falling in love with this one, too." He looked meaningfully at Hannah.

"Glad that's settled," Louis said. "I'm so glad we did this today. And I can't wait to introduce my personal elf to the family."

"Speaking of which," Harry began, pitching his voice low, "we can't let her think I'm really an elf, can we?"

Louis sighed, "I suppose not."

Finally bored with watching the skating and the adult conversation going on above her head, Hannah turned around to look at Louis. "Papa, can we do skating some more?"

"Sure, sweet pea," Louis agreed. "That sounds good."

"Can you come, too, Harry?" Hannah asked. "Or do you have to go back to work with Santa?"

"I can come," Harry answered. "Santa gave me the rest of today off."

"Yay!" Hannah clapped her hands. She popped off the bench and grabbed her skates from the floor. She turned back around to look at Harry, eyes wide, as if she'd realised something. "If you're friends with Papa, can we visit you at Santa's workshop?"

Harry chuckled. "Maybe so."

"Yay!" She shifted her gaze to Louis. "Let's go skate!"

Louis sucked down the rest of his hot chocolate, and Harry did the same. As they got up to retrieve their skates to follow a very excited Hannah back to the rink, Louis touched Harry's forearm. "That thing about letting her know the truth?"

Harry nodded, then raised his eyebrows in question.

"Let's ease her into it," Louis suggested.

"Fine with me," Harry returned. "But let's tell her before I need to book a trip to the North Pole."

Louis laughed, grabbing Hannah's insistent hand. "It's a deal."

End (16 November 2019)


End file.
